California hospital reexamines transition to nonprofit operator

Antelope Valley Hospital, a nonprofit hospital in Lancaster, Calif., is reexamining its plan to be operated by a separate nonprofit entity, according to theAntelope Valley Press.

The Antelope Valley Healthcare District, also in Lancaster, formed the nonprofit Antelope Valley Hospital, Inc., after voters approved a measure allowing the transition in 2017. The district has since began the process of transitioning the previous hospital's assets to the nonprofit organization with the goal of improving stability for hospital governance.

However, problems with the transfer agreement led to the board postponing the change until July 1. The original deadline was Dec. 31.

Alternatively, the district is considering whether to pursue legislation that would increase the size of its governing board to further stabilize operations. The organization is currently set to have a nine-member governing board, however state law caps board expansion to seven members.

Greg Moser, an attorney with a law firm brought on to review the transition, told the Antelope Valley Press legislation may be a "way to get there that might be a little less complicated, that doesn't have all of the difficulties of actually transferring the assets."

Editor's note: This article was updated Dec. 28 to include more information.